


Bloodlust

by Darkrealmist



Series: Scroll of Origins [2]
Category: Magic: The Gathering (Card Game)
Genre: Ambition, Blood, Blood Magic, Card Games, Character Death, Character Study, Demon Summoning, Demons, Evil, Fantasy, Gen, Gods, Human Sacrifice, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Kamigawa (Magic: The Gathering), Legends, Magic, Mountains, Ogres, Rituals, Spirits, Violence, Wish Fulfillment, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000, Wordcount: Over 1.000, Wordcount: Under 10.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-03 02:57:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21172289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkrealmist/pseuds/Darkrealmist
Summary: The tale of a malevolent initiate whose obsession with blood drives him insane.





	Bloodlust

Bloodlust

Author’s Note: Wrote this fourteen years ago. Enjoy the story and R&R.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to or of _Magic: The Gathering_.

Card Reference: <http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=78688>

Summary:

The tale of a malevolent initiate whose obsession with blood drives him insane.

* * *

The history of Kamigawa runs rampant with the stories of great heroes and others of legendary status. Lands once trembled and worshipped the all-powerful daimyo, Konda. Jushi students mastered mystical arts at the Minamo School under the guidance of Sensei Hisoka and Lady Azami. Trees and fields of flowers grew wherever the monk, Azusa, passed. The rats bowed down to their lord, Marrow-Gnawer, and Akki poets recited praise of Zo-Zu the Punisher.

What of the lesser warriors? The conquerors who were not born conquerors? The travelers who had not traveled far enough?

So begins the tale of Goka, the Unjust. A lone ogre conducting a vile ritual that leaves the mountains haunted by his victims’ souls

…

Oni worshippers were a common sight in the Sokenzan mountains. Most of these had appearances resembling those of the demons themselves, sporting devious maws and chained weapons. Passing sanzoku bandits often gossiped about Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep, a skull-lined citadel high in the rocks of Sokenzan, where the ogre mages and ogre shamans offered sacrifices to summon their oni lords from the Kakuriyo to learn dark secrets and attain power. Few of the stories told ended with the worshippers actually gaining what they sought. The oni were said to devour their own subordinates after the rituals were completed. Perhaps it was the fact the ogres were initially aligned with the forces of black magic.

One ogre shaman was determined to prove that theory. Born in the mountains, red mana running through his veins, and under the watchful eyes of an oni statue, this ogre learned at an early age the rituals and goings-on in Shinka. On the night of a crescent moon, the young shaman conducted his first sacrifice: a captured Nezumi ronin unfortunate enough to meet him earlier that day. As time went on, the ogre became more content with the unholy acts. So content, some saw it an obsession.

By his fiftieth sacrifice, the elders of Shinka deemed the over-aspiring initiate – Goka, they now called him – far too dangerous, as he was now conducting rituals on a nightly basis and without the consent of the council. Goka’s purpose no longer seemed to be that of worshipping their oni masters. It was a sport to him more than anything else.

Given the circumstances, the elders intervened during the ritual. A human maiden was begging for her life, strapped to a wooden platform circled by candles. Goka was displeased, and his anger showed. In that one night, Goka not only sacrificed the woman, but the entire Shinka council as well.

Unlike the unanswered or unwelcome gifts that came from past rituals, Goka became more powerful. The oni he worshipped gave him strength, agility and spirit-weapons. All he had to do was continue his reign of bloodshed.

Over the next few years, more and more inhabitants of Sokenzan became aware of Goka’s distaste for life. They nicknamed him “Goka, the Unjust.” Samurai, jushi and shamans alike all banded together to bring down the demonic monster, however the outcome of every battle was the same. Goka would sacrifice his fallen foes and grow stronger.

One day, Goka came across a traveling yamabushi. The warrior-priest's black hair was already showing signs of gray, and the ogre thought he would be easy pickings for his next sacrifice.

He was wrong. For the first time, Goka was defeated. His combatant left, only leaving his name: Kumano.

The battle scarred Goka’s face. The oni did not reply to his requests for a better one. Instead, they gave him a spirit-helmet. He soon found the helmet channelled his pain into his other spirit-weapons. Not intent on revenge for his suffering, Goka continued his rituals, until the night of a waning moon.

Before the statue he was birthed under, the walls lined with torches, fresh kill was thrown on the bone-carpeted floor, and blood seeped from the carrion to form a “lake” of death. Goka bathed in the pool of blood, and completed the ritual.

The statue’s face twisted in an evil smile, a ray of white light shining down on it from the moon. Meteors from the sky pelted the mountain range, leaving blue fire in their wake.

Goka watched as the stone sculpture fell into the whirlpool of souls. A gigantic hand reached up through the red river, smashing straight into Shinka’s roof. Razor-sharp black hair scraped the walls, and another fist was sent through the back of the keep. Three screeching worms emerged from the blood, their rows of teeth sinking into the mountain itself. A moment later, a browned skull took shape at the center of the undulating torso, three eyes and a tongue greeting the reverent ogre.

Shimatsu the Bloodcloaked had been summoned. For so long Goka had awaited this moment. He’d carried out hundreds of blood sacrifices, just to lay eyes upon the king of oni.

His first thought was to welcome Shimatsu. The demon did not care, tearing away the rest of Shinka and letting out a ferocious roar. His cry rang out over the mountain range, and for a breath, only its echo could be heard.

Then, the kami arrived. Thousands of kami, different shapes and sizes, arose from the rocks. Another fierce roar came from Shimatsu, and more meteors shot into the pulsating crowd. Explosions followed, which Goka took great delight in viewing. Blood rained over Sokenzan, and the ogre shaman was glad he took part in such pandemonium.

Goka held his spirit-weapons tightly, presenting them to the feasting oni. The demon devoured the blood quickly, and then studied the miniscule form below him.

“Goka, the Unjust,” Shimatsu bellowed in an acidic voice. “You have freed me from my sleep. What is it that you desire?”

The initiate-turned-warlord laughed. “I desire bloodshed! More bloodshed! I want to feel the blood lapping the air and streaming below my feet!”

“I shall grant your wish,” the oni cackled, his worm-shoulders opening and closing their mouths.

“Yes, grant my wish! Bring me more blood than I have ever dreamed!”

The sound of bones crunching under extreme pressure filled Shimatsu’s horned ears. The worms had speared Goka through with their fangs.

“Feel the blood lapping the air! Streaming below your feet!”

Goka coughed, blood spurting from him as the teeth exited his body. His flesh had been torn in several places, and the red substance flooded from his wounds. For all the sacrifices offered, Goka now returned in equal amount. A thousand souls spilled to his feet, and were released into the air in a noxious cloud. He collapsed backward, his life fleeting.

“And now begins the punishment of the Bloodcloaked!” The oni leapt away, down the mountain to plague Kamigawa.

Goka managed to choke out his last words, “Blood…More blood…”

From then on, Kamigawa had to endure the painful existence of Shimatsu, oni king released by Goka, the Unjust. Yet even now, below the bloody, disturbed earth, Goka can only chant, “Blood…More blood…”


End file.
